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I am thrilled to have Rosie Genova stop by today on her tour for her latest book, THE WEDDING SOUP MURDER. Rosie is here to tell us about the real Jersey Shore – you know, the one without Snookie. So I hope you enjoy it. And be sure to leave a comment for Rosie, maybe ask her a question about her Jersey, and then go HERE because she is giving away some really great prizes along with signed copies of the book. Take it away Rosie!

The real Jersey shore

It wasn’t that long ago that the words “Jersey shore” were not synonymous with over-tanning, hair gel, bad behavior, and even worse accents. Before the advent of a certain reality television show, the shore towns along the coast of my home state were associated with the natural beauty of sand dunes and sea grass and miles of boardwalk fun. That is the Jersey shore that I attempt to capture in my series, the Italian Kitchen Mysteries.

In fact, what is wonderful about the different shore communities is the wide variety of what they offer visitors—everything from history to architecture to beautiful beaches. Many of us who live here go “down the shore” every summer, either as day visitors or renters. In my series, the fictional setting of Oceanside Park is inspired by a number of those towns: Point Pleasant, Ocean City, and perhaps most of all, Asbury Park as it was in its heyday.

Long before a certain guy named Bruce made Asbury Park famous, the community had been a vacation destination since the 19thcentury. In my family, going to Asbury in the summer had been a tradition since World War II.

Photo credit: Robert L. Erath, courtesy Evelyn and Neil Erath

The photo here was taken with a Kodachrome camera in the summer of 1941. This is the Asbury Park of my mother and grandmother’s time. The old-time cars, the men in their summer whites, and the little girl in her cotton dress and hair bow, all evoke a time that is long gone. But the swan boat in the foreground remained in operation throughout my childhood, as did the Ferris wheel in the background, and in fact inspired the image on the cover of the first book in the series, Murder and Marinara. There’s a scene in the book in which my main character, Victoria Rienzi, takes a ride on that Ferris wheel with an attractive man who may or may not be a murderer, though she is more afraid of the ride than she is of the suspect!

In the real world, of course, things change, and the places we love are no longer as we remember. But they can be preserved in stories. So I hope you’ll take a trip with me to Oceanside Park, where you’ll experience the real Jersey shore—and perhaps solve a murder or two!

Victoria Rienzi came home to the Jersey Shore to write a new book, learn the family restaurant business, and practice the fine art of Italian cooking. But when delicious dishes are paired with murder, Vic has a little too much on her plate…When Vic asked her nonna for more responsibility in the kitchen, she didn’t mean making a thousand tiny meatballs by hand for the family’s famous wedding soup. The dish is to be served at the reception for a close family friend at the exclusive Belmont Country Club. And once there Vic has to deal with a demanding bridezilla and clashes in the kitchen—between the staff and servers, between two egocentric head chefs, and between the country club president and…well…everyone.

The wedding comes off without a hitch—until the body of the club’s president is found on the beach below a high seawall. Now Vic will need to use her noodle to find out who pushed whom too far…before she’s the one who lands in the soup!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A Jersey girl born and bred, national bestselling author Rosie Genova left her heart at the shore, which serves as the setting for much of her work. Her new series, the Italian Kitchen Mysteries, is informed by her appreciation for good food, her pride in her heritage, and her love of classic mysteries from Nancy Drew to Miss Marple. Her debut novel, Murder and Marinara, was named a 2013 Best Cozy by Suspense Magazine and is a finalist for a 2014 Daphne Award. An English teacher by day and novelist by night, Rosie also writes women’s fiction as Rosemary DiBattista. She still lives in her home state with her husband and the youngest of her three Jersey boys.

I missed out on the tour for the first book in this series but now I just have to go back and read it because THE WEDDING SOUP MURDER was just so much fun. And needless to say, I can’t wait for number three. The characters are a lot of fun, people you would enjoy having as friends. The backdrop of a family restaurant in New Jersey works really well. Food always makes a good mix with murder. Especially when there are recipes at the back! Vic should be the next protagonist that makes her way to your TBR pile. This one is ♥♥♥♥♥

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Colleen Helme is on tour with her latest Shelby Nichols Adventure. Be sure to leave a comment for Colleen below then you can enter to win one of three signed copies of DEEP IN DEATH by going HERE.

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Running “errands” for her mob-boss employer, Joey “The Knife” Manetto, often ends with Shelby in trouble, making her cautious about continuing her association with him. Instead, she focuses on a new client who hires Shelby to find her missing mother. What seems like a routine case turns into something more sinister and deadly than she ever imagined.

In the meantime, Uncle Joey has summoned Shelby to his office, where she runs into her former nemesis. Shelby inadvertently hears something that makes her fear for the lives of Uncle Joey and his hit-man, Ramos. This time, Uncle Joey is not sure he wants to involve Shelby in something he knows could get her killed. Keeping Shelby’s involvement to a minimum has disastrous results, sending Shelby on a dangerous path. As her investigation unfolds, Shelby finds death at every turn, and soon realizes she is in over her head. Can she escape from danger in time? Or will she find herself deep in death?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

As the author of the Shelby Nichols Adventure Series, Colleen is often asked if Shelby Nichols is her alter-ego. “Definitely,” she says. “Shelby is the epitome of everything I wish I dared to be.” Known for her laugh since she was a kid, Colleen has always tried to find the humor in every situation and continues to enjoy writing about Shelby’s adventures. “I love getting Shelby into trouble…I just don’t always know how to get her out of it!” Colleen lives in the Rocky Mountains with her family. Besides writing, she loves a good book, biking, hiking, and playing board and card games with family and friends. She loves to connect with readers and admits that fans of the series keep her writing.

Loved it. Could not put it down. This is the 6thouting for Shelby Nichols which means I really have to find the time to go back and read the first five. Shelby reads minds as a result of being shot in the head during a bank robbery. She uses this unusual talent to help both the police and the mob. She has a husband and two kids but finds herself strongly attracted to a hit man. Am I bad for wanting my own personal hit man too? Love that little moral ambiguity in the story. One of her kids, Samantha, can’t understand how her mother always gets in trouble since, as a mind reader she should see it coming. Smart kid LOL. I have only one complaint – the cover. I usually don’t mention covers but this one looks like a romance, not a mystery. But the story is so good, it loses no points for that. This one is a solid ♥♥♥♥♥

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Cathy Ace is doing a Prelease Tour of the latest in the Cait Morgan Series, THE CORPSE WITH THE PLATINUM HAIR, with Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours. I am very pleased she is kicking the tour off here, today, and has a guest post for us (be sure and check for the giveaway below)… Take it away Cathy.

It’s great to have the chance to visit again, but I’m very aware that, this time, I don’t have Kate “holding my hand”! That’s what being interviewed feels like, to me—the structure is set by the interviewer, so I am free to chat around a theme, so to speak. This time, it’s a “Guest Post” which, to this author, are two words that strike terror in my heart. You see, to be perfectly honest, I’m not convinced that either I or my life are terribly interesting, so coming up with a topic is always a challenge.

So I’ve picked a topic I’m familiar with, and which I hope will interest others: Vegas, baby, Vegas! Okay, it’s not a stretch—THE CORPSE WITH THE PLATINUM HAIR is the fourth Cait Morgan Mystery and it’s pre-ordering now (ready to hit your bookshelf in October) and, yes, it’s set in Vegas. Now, there are a lot of books set in Sin City—hardly surprising given its reputation for criminal activity (and a particularly popular CSI team!)—so I admit I was in two minds about walking along this well-trod path with Cait. But I admit I have a bit of a thing for Vegas, so I decided to risk it, but to try to “Do It My Way” (first of the obligatory Frank Sinatra references!). You know what I mean—like those houses they have in real-estate “shopping” shows where the innocent potential purchasers are told that by having to repaint the whole place and knock down a few walls they can “put their own stamp on it”? Yes, that’s what I mean.

So I’ll ‘fess-up: my husband and I visit Vegas about half a dozen times a year. Yes, I know it sounds like a lot, and it probably is, but we only go for weekends, and it’s just over a two-hour flight away from Vancouver, so it’s very d-able and, when I get there—nothing! I don’t have to think, or even function much. The shows are exceptional, and my OH and I are great fans of stand-up comedy, so we take the opportunity to see some of the best in the world, up-close and personal, on the wonderful, intimate, Vegas stages. But it’s the food that calls to us! Vegas used to be about the gambling, now it’s about the food. Many of the world’s top restaurants are on The Strip in Vegas. Many of the world’s top chefs work there, have restaurants there, and train tomorrow’s top chefs there too. Ingredients are flown in from around the world, and there seems to be NOTHING you cannot have, if your pockets are deep enough, and your desires wide enough. But we don’t live like that, and you don’t have to to enjoy the Vegas we enjoy. A lazy Saturday poolside, followed by a wash and brush up for pre-show drinks, then the mind boggling spectacle we’ve chosen, then, inevitably, a late dinner. Followed by a few more drinks, to allow dinner to be digested, of course. Yes, they turn into late nights, but that’s not the end of the world, because we can start the next day slowly, revitalize at the pool again, then…well, okay, repeat, sans show.

Two days together of indulgence in the sun. Two days together lying at the pool hearing “music”, where every word is unintelligible, and which we know we’re at least three decades too old to attempt to “shake a leg” to. Two days of sipping a martini, or a glass of champagne (maybe both?) beneath the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, watching the fountains dance to the sound of Catherine Zeta Jones (another Swansea girl, like me) belting out “All That Jazz”, then savoring duck confit, skate wing, and white chocolate bread pudding. Two days of giggling at the mini-Elvis chatting up a girl in a “Hello Kitty” outfit, as Darth Vader wanders by, his giant helmet under his arm as he prepares to catch the bus back home after his on-Strip shift. Two days wondering if the young man with the drink shaped like an electric guitar (so big it requires a strap to attach it to its drinker) managed to make it back to his hotel at all, and puzzling over why the girls bother to wear heels so high they have to take then off and carry them after about ten minutes.

My favourite hobby in life is “Watching the world go by”. I promise you there is nowhere better to do this than in Vegas. And, oh my, what a world it is! Of course, if you want to find out what’s below that skin, if you want to understand what it’s like to live your life in a city that never, ever sleeps, then you might want to join Cait Morgan and Bud Anderson for Bud’s birthday celebrations in Vegas, when he gets to eat at an exclusive, private dining room…and when Cait gets to work out which person locked into that restaurant with her and Bud killed the casino owner. THE CORPSE WITH THE PLATINUM HAIR will peel back the rhinestone-encrusted velour, but it might reveal a different Vegas than the one you expect. It’s the Vegas I have spent ten years coming to know, a Vegas where people earn a living honestly…but then, well, it is a murder mystery, so I won’t say too much!

GIVEAWAY

Cathy is giving away two print copies of THE CORPSE WITH THE PLATINUM HAIR. For a chance to win, leave a comment for Cathy, below, then go HERE.

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“Look! Somebody’s skewered Miss Shirley to her seat with a silver saber.”

When Cait Morgan arrives in Las Vegas, her only plans are to celebrate a birthday with Bud, her significant other. But then Miss Shirley—a casino owner better known as the “Queen of the Vegas Strip”—is murdered during Bud’s birthday feast. A security lockdown seals Cait and Bud in a private dining room with a corpse, an unidentified murderer, and a group of nervous, potential victims.

As the bodies pile up and tensions mount, Cait’s list of suspects dwindles. Fearing for her life and for Bud’s, Cait knows she mustsolve the mystery. But can she reveal the killer before she, too, is mercilessly murdered?ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Originally from Wales, now-Canadian Cathy Ace writes the Cait Morgan Mysteries. In The Corpse with the Silver Tongue her foodie criminologist sleuthed in the south of France. The Corpse with the Golden Nose found Cait sniffing out a killer in BC’s vineyards. The Corpse with the Emerald Thumb met her when she was meddling in murders in Mexico. This time Cait is caught up in a true closed-room mystery in a classy casino restaurant in Las Vegas. When not helping Cait solve traditional, closed-circle mysteries, Cathy’s a keen gardener, ably assisted by her green-pawed chocolate Labradors.

What can I say? Ms. Ace clearly cannot write a bad book. I loved it. I enjoyed the deeper look at the “process” Cait uses with her eidetic memory – I LOL at the humming, especially in the toilet (for no particular reason, know no one who does that). And I just plain enjoy Cait – a woman of a certain age who likes good food, a cup of tea, a good drink, smoking, carries a few extra pounds (once again, no particular reason LOL). And in this visit with Cait we have a true locked room mystery. The victim, the murderer as well as all the suspects, are all locked in a room along with Cait and Bud – for quite a while. Go preorder this one because you are really going to love it too. ♥♥♥♥♥

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Pamela Burford is on tour with Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour with her new release UNDERTAKING IRENE. Read my review and be sure to leave a comment below and go HERE for a chance to win a copy.

UNDERTAKING IRENE by Pamela BurfordCozy Mystery – 250 Pages

Synopsis

Jane Delaney does things her paying customers can’t do, don’t want to do, don’t want to be seen doing, can’t bring themselves to do, and/or don’t want it to be known they’d paid someone to do. To dead people. Life gets complicated for Jane and her Death Diva business when she’s hired to liberate a gaudy mermaid brooch from the corpse during a wake. Well, a girl’s got to make a living, and this assignment pays better than scattering ashes, placing flowers on graves, or bawling her eyes out as a hired mourner. Unfortunately for Jane, someone else is just as eager to get his hands on that brooch, and he’s even sneakier than she is. Just when she thinks her biggest problem is grand theft mermaid, things take a murderous turn. But hey, when you’ve teamed up with a neurotic seven-pound poodle named Sexy Beast, how can you lose?

About This Author

Pamela Burford is the best-selling author of 15 works of mystery, contemporary romance, and romantic suspense. She has received four RITA and Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award nominations and is a frequent speaker at writers’ conferences and workshops. Her books have sold millions of copies, received outstanding reviews, and been translated into more than a dozen languages. Pamela is the founder and past president of Long Island Romance Writers, a chapter of Romance Writers of America. Fun fact: her twin sister Patricia Ryan, a.k.a. P.B. Ryan, is also a published novelist

My Review

This is a book that reads easy and quick – because it is so much fun. Definitely gets the award for “Most Unusual Profession In A Cozy”. Jane does anything regarding a funeral that you don’t want to do yourself. Don’t want to get caught doing yourself is more like it. LOL Her very first job was stuffing the ashes of the departed into shotgun shells. Some of the things are so hysterical and I won’t spoil it by telling you – but think what you would like to be your ‘parting shot’, good or bad, as it were. The victim in this book is Jane’s best customer so carrying on in this profession may be more difficult in future books. The ending is one that keeps on giving – it’s not over til it’s over! I hope Martin is along for the ride in book 2, and I can’t wait for it because this one is definitely ♥♥♥♥♥

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A relatively new favorite author, Larissa Reinhart may hold the record for visits to the blog and I am thrilled she is here again today. After teaching in the US and Japan, Larissa enjoys writing, particularly sassy female characters with a penchant for trouble. She lives near Atlanta with her family and Cairn Terrier, Biscuit. Visit her website or you can find her chatting on Facebook. Death in Perspective is the fourth book in the best selling Cherry Tucker Mystery series. The first, Portrait of a Dead Guy, is a Daphne du Maurier finalist, Emily finalist, and Dixie Kane Memorial winner. Larissa recently returned from a vacation in Japan. You know how some people absolutely hate hearing about people’s vacations? Well not me! I love it! So let’s all vicariously visit Japan today. Be sure to leave a comment for Larissa, one of you will win an e-copy of any book from the series that you choose and if you go HEREyou have a chance to win a Barnes & Noble gift card and some swag. Welcome, Larissa.

Hey Kate! Thanks for having me on again and I’m so glad you didn’t get bored with my reports from Japan!

How long has it been since you visited Japan prior to this visit?

For my girls and I, it’s been three and a half years since we moved back. My husband (lucky guy) gets to travel there a lot on business. I think he was there six times last fall and winter!

What part(s) of the country did you visit?

We were mainly visiting friends on this trip, so we spent most of our time in Nagoya, which was the city we previously lived in. We took a side trip to Kyoto and Nara with the girls for three nights for some family time. My husband and I used to live near Kyoto (ages ago), so it’s always fun for us to revisit old haunts and see the changes. Japanese cities are constantly evolving, although Kyoto and Nara have preserved a lot of their own neighborhoods as well as the historic sites. They were two of the few cities not bombed during WWII, so it’s hard to find those medieval and pre-modern homes and shops in other parts of Japan.

Did you find a lot had changed and particularly, did you notice the effects of the world wide recession or are they over it?

Our neighborhood had changed a lot (to us). A spaghetti shop we used to visit was gone. It was pretty decrepit, but had really great spaghetti. And only spaghetti on the menu, all kinds. Not even a salad (if you ask for a salad, you’re offered vegetable juice). I digress… But all the new construction was a good sign for economic recovery. Japan was in an economic depression last time we lived there. And of course, the Tohoku earthquake hit the economy really hard. We moved just before that happened.

I have read about the Japan culture’s love of ‘cuteness’. Is it really as over the top as some press makes it seem or confined to small segments of society?

OH MY GOODNESS. Japan’s cuteness is so over the top adorable. The newest trend in cuteness is hamster butts. Yes, you read that right. If you look at a hamster butt, they are quite cute. We saw a whole section in a bookstore dedicated to books with photos of cute hamster butts. There’s always something trending and that trend is constantly changing. Krispy Kreme is also trending. I was happy to see that. They’re almost as popular as Starbucks. But not quite. Hello Kitty also still reigns supreme, which will make a lot of people happy. But there, she is Kitty-Chan.

Speaking of cute, did you bring back a bento box or kimono for your dog?

Haha! You saw my pictures! No, Biscuit would not appreciate a bento or a kimono. In fact, Biscuit got nothing. Poor dog. But he’s not much on treats and a kimono would really drive him insane. He was very happy to see us, though. Our return was his gift.

I am always interested in the book reading habits of other countries. The American style cozies are rare in Ireland for example but they were making a big splash in China (in English, mind you) for a while. The Swedish mysteries seem big in America at the moment. Did you visit any book stores on your trip? Do they read cozies? What does seem popular?

Bookstores are really popular in Japan. You find them all over the place. Japanese readers still prefer books to e-readers and they read a lot on trains and subways, so the books have always been paperback and kind of hand sized. And because of the writing, the books are very slim. Anyway, Japanese readers love mysteries and Agatha Christie is still a favorite. In fact, their public broadcasting channel, NHK, did an animated Agatha Christie series starring Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, and a girl named Mabel with a duck. Besides Mabel and the duck, the mysteries were pretty true to the original stories. You also see a lot of mysteries on TV, particularly detective stories. I think there is a love of crime drama because there’s not a lot of crime, so it’s very entertaining. That’s just a hypothesis though.

Can I just say, Mabel and the duck. Does it get any better?

Before you go, what can we expect next after Death in Perspective ?

I’m writing The Body in the Landscape now (#5), which will come out sometime next year. Cherry’s hired to do a “kill portrait” for a Hogzilla hunting contest at Big Rack Lodge and finds a body while painting a landscape in the first line (hence the title). I’m so thrilled for the chance to write about Hogzilla. They are something of a true legend around here. A 1,000+ pound feral hog was killed close to where I live a few years ago. And of course, there’s Cherry and the mystery. Seven bow hunters trapped in a bunkhouse in the middle of a hunting preserve during a November storm. Which one will die next and which one’s the killer? Fun, fun.

The curtain rises on Cherry Tucker’s debut as a high school set designer at the posh Peerless Day Academy. Cherry’s been hired for an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, but the drama director is hoping Cherry can also turn the spotlight on a malicious social media bully who’s sending poisonous texts to the faculty. The director’s got his own drama to hide, and the phantom texter seems eager to spill school secrets. When the principal’s secretary commits suicide, Cherry suspects foul play.

Deputy Luke Harper is ready to return as Cherry’s leading man. He’s eager to assist in finding the phantom culprit, but Cherry fears family secrets offstage may doom them to the role as star-crossed lovers. With the bully waiting for a murderous encore and her own family skeletons to hide, Cherry scrambles to find her brother and the mysterious texter before the phantom decides it’s curtains for Cherry and forces her to take a final bow.

MY REVIEW

Fun. Fun. Fun. Cherry is like Lucy and Ethel all rolled into one Southern package. Rather timely, this deals with bullying. I enjoyed the whole Tara storyline (Luke’s ex/stalker). Shawna is busy giving Cherry you know what on Facebook. Cherry is a bit down in this installment. Her love life with Luke is a continuing problem. As anyone who reads this blog knows, I haven’t liked Luke from the beginning. I see Cherry with Max. The whole Branson connection (and Cody) is heating up and should be interesting in upcoming books. Oh yeah, the mystery is top notch too but I just read this series for the characters LOL! If you haven’t started yet, go right now and get the first in the series and catch up with the rest of us! ♥♥♥♥♥

Amanda Lee, also writing as Gayle Trent, is a full-time writer living with her family in Southwest Virginia. She writes the embroidery mystery series as Amanda Lee and writes the cake decorating series and the Myrtle Crumb series as Gayle Trent. Today we are right smack in the middle of her tour with Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours. Leave a comment below for a chance to win a print copy of the book (US only) and you can ALSO go HERE for a chance to win a $50 Amazon Gift Card.

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Marcy can’t wait to see the new exhibit at the Tallulah Falls museum on antique tapestries and textiles, including beautiful kilim rugs. But her enthusiasm quickly turns to terror when, the day after the exhibition opens, she discovers a dead body behind her store, the Seven-Year Stitch, wrapped up in a most unusual fashion.

The victim appears to be a visiting art professor in town for the exhibit. Did someone decide to teach the professor a lesson, then attempt to sweep the evidence under the rug? Along with her boyfriend, Detective Ted Nash, Marcy must unravel an intricate tapestry of deception to find a desperate killer.

MY REVIEW

This is the seventh book in the Embroidery Mystery series featuring Marcy Singer, a protagonist who moved to the Oregon coast to open an embroidery specialty shop. Marcy left her home in San Francisco to move to Tallulah Falls along with her faithful companion, an Irish wolfhound named Angus. I love Irish Wolfhounds so the series gets points right there with me. Marcy’s best friend Sadie MacKenzie and her husband Blake run the coffeehouse right down the street from Marcy’s shop, the Seven Year Stitch and Detective Ted Nash always has had her back right from the beginning and now Marcy is getting to meet his mother – following her undercover visit to the Seven Year Stitch. Fun twists and turns including a thief/victim who might have been more of a Robin Hood, characters you look forward to seeing again, a reliably enjoyable series, once again this one is a ♥♥♥♥♥

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UPFRONT ADDENDUM: We were supposed to have an interview today. But as sometimes happens in publishing, there was a slight delay in getting the book out which resulted in the tour being cancelled. But then it was back on, sort of at the last minute. As a matter of fact, I was finishing reading the book at a doctor’s appointment yesterday. Somehow, in all of that, the interview was forgotten about. Apologies!!!! So let’s salvage this! Mary Lee and Anita are around – why don’t we ALL interview them. Ask them a question in the comments and you will be entered to win an ebook copy of FIFTY SHADES OF GREYHOUND. I’ll start us off with the obvious, why Sparkle Abbey – where did the name come from?

Sparkle Abbey is the pseudonym of mystery authors Mary Lee Woods and Anita Carter. They write the popular pet mystery series which features whodunits set in the wacky world of pampered pets, precious pedigrees, and secrets. The first book in the series Desperate Housedogs, an Amazon mystery series bestseller and Barnes & Noble Nook #1 national bestseller, was followed by Get Fluffy, Kitty Kitty Bang Bang, and Yip/Tuck.Fifty Shades of Greyhoundis the latest installment. They are on tour with Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours and for a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card, go HERE.

Fifty Shades of Greyhound by Sparkle AbbeyCozy Mystery205 Pages

SYNOPSIS

It was a killer party.

Caro Lamont, Laguna Beach’s favorite pet therapist is thrilled to support the elite fundraising gala for Greys Matter, a SoCal greyhound rescue group. All the guests in the couture-attired crowd are clad in varying shades of grey, the champagne and donations are flowing, and there are fifty gorgeous greyhounds in attendance. But before the evening ends a stranger in their midst is dead.

Caro sets out to help the rescue group find out the identity of the mystery guest, but soon finds herself in the doghouse with homicide detective, Judd Malone. And federal agent, John Milner. When there’s a second death, Caro is convinced she’s on the track of someone who wants a secret to stay buried, but it’s a race to see whether Caro can uncover the truth before the killer decides she’s next up.

MY REVIEW

I would say they had me at the title, but the truth is, I fell in love with this series back with the first book. But even if it is new to you, don’t be afraid to jump in here as it works well as a standalone. The characters are well written and interesting – with a nice cross between the more serious ones and the quirky ones – like Betty. The story opens at a fundraiser for greyhounds (a personal favorite animal fundraiser of mine – and greyhounds make wonderful pets to adopt, to find out where you can do so in your area and lots of great info, check HERE) and Caro has the first victim falling literally at her feet. But not before he grabs onto her shoulder and manages to pull off a brooch that is the cause of an ongoing feud between Caro and her cousin Mel. The story moves along quickly and would be perfect reading for a day at the beach. ♥♥♥♥♥

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Critically acclaimed author Karen MacInerney also teaches writers’ workshops and drives a mean carpool. Her book Murder on the Rocks was selected as an Agatha nominee for Best First Novel. When she’s not writing or chauffeuring children, she loves to read, drink coffee, attempt unusual recipes, and hit the local hike-and-bike trail. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband and two children, and escapes to Maine as often as possible. Today, Karen, on tour with Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours, is here discussing what she does when she has a writing drought. Be sure and leave a comment below to be eligible to win a print copy (US only) of DEATH RUNS ADRIFT.

CREATIVITY PRACTICE

By Karen MacInerney

I experienced a bit of a writing drought this past year – something I’ve been through many times before – and now that I’m back in the saddle again, so to speak, I’ve been thinking a lot about what might have caused it. And how I got out of it.

I think that one of the biggest problems with being a writer, or an artist, or a musician, is the marriage of art and commerce. When we are making things, be they clay pots, poems, stained glass, or novels, if things are going well, we fall into ‘flow’ mode. I’m sure you’ve been there before; it’s that magical state when the world recedes around us and there’s nothing but us and our work, and it’s completely absorbing. When we finally sit up and rejoin the rest of the world, we feel satisfied, at peace.

Some days, it’s harder to get to ‘flow’ than others, but it’s that magical state that makes the experience of making things so satisfying. The problem is, when we start viewing our work as a commodity, a thing to be critiqued and judged, part of our mind is often disconnected. It’s the part that tells us we need to work faster, or that what we’re doing isn’t going to sell, or that we were crazy to have tried a project like this because we don’t know what we’re doing and should just stick to what we know other people like. Or give up on making art altogether, because the sale of a creative product is a risky enterprise.

I’ve heard all of those things inside my head before, particularly when I’ve taken on a particularly challenging project, or one that’s different from what I’m used to doing. And do you know what usually happens when that voice really gets going?

I stop working.

And when I stop working, I stop getting into flow mode. And when I stop getting into flow mode, I lose the habit of getting into flow mode, and start to doubt my work even more. If it goes on long enough I start to think I should switch gears and learn to be a plumber, or refrigerator repair person, or just about anything other than a person who puts words on paper for a living.

Fortunately, so far, I’ve found the strength within myself – and from my community of writers – to pick myself up and get back to the daily practice of writing. I sit down and I write a thousand words a day. They don’t have to be good words. I’m free to delete them the next day (although usually I don’t). But they propel me forward, they let me enjoy that elusive “flow” state, and they make me feel like a writer.

The truth is, whatever my books do when they go out into the world, I’m happiest when I’m writing; I seem to have a supply of creative energy that needs to be expressed, or it turns in on itself (and me) in unpleasant ways. When I make my peace with that, my best work seems free to come out.

Recently, just to shake things up and keep my perspective fresh, I’ve also taken up watercolor. It’s a more kinesthetic art form, and one which (for me, anyway) carries no expectation of financial remuneration. It’s not my “job.” And I’m learning to carry some of that over to my writing, pursuing what inspires me rather than what I “should” be doing.

I’ve ignored my inner voice and followed what I thought was the financially prudent path in my writing career more than once, and each time I have made myself unhappy. It’s when I listen to the wisdom deep inside me and make my creativity a practice that I’m happiest. And when I’m following that inner compass, I feel I tend to do better work.

What’s your creative calling? Have you established a creativity practice in your life? Is there something you’d like to try?

With her own wedding fast approaching and her mother-in-law dating an unexpected beau, the last thing Natalie Barnes needs is to find a young man shot dead in a dinghy. A note she finds with the body suggests the dearly departed had a secret rendezvous planned with somebody on the island. But when suspicion is cast on a fisherman Natalie believes to be innocent, she begins to wonder if the murder was the result of a lover’s quarrel . . . or a lobsterman’s disagreement gone horribly wrong.

When I read a book for review, I have a notebook by my side. Sadly, the better the book, the fewer the notes – I’m just too into it. Total extent of the notes for this book:

a tiny island off the coast of Maine

close to the border of Canada

the sixth entry in the Gray Whale Inn series

did I read first one? – it’s on Kindle… get rest of series

FUN FUN FUN

great recipes

From my lack of notes, you can assume this was a really, really good book. Natalie Barnes has her wedding plans in place so she has time for other things. Finding a body would not have been top of her list, but that’s what she got. So we have a modern day mystery but running parallel to that is a mystery from back in the twenties – won’t say anymore and spoil it but it is easy to find a bit on the subject here on this blog (hint hint LOL). This is a really great read and stands alone, but like me, you may find yourself wanting to go back and read it from the beginning. ♥♥♥♥♥┼

Like this:

Sally Goldenbaum is a sometime philosophy teacher, a knitter, and an editor, and the author of more than thirty novels. Sally became more serious about knitting with the birth of her first grandchild and the creation of the Seaside Knitters mystery series. Her fictional knitting friends are teaching her the intricacies of women’s friendship, the mysteries of small-town living, and the very best way to pick up dropped stitches on a lacy knit shawl. Sally is stopping here today with Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours because she has a new book in The Seaside Knitters Mystery series, MURDER IN MERINO. She’s giving away a hardcover copy (US only) so be sure and leave a comment for her below. Welcome, Sally.

My Irish mother is, for whatever reason, into the old Nordic or Fair Isle type of knits. I am traditional Aran with my cables and bobbles, although with some rather modern designs. So what type of knitting do you like to do?

I would love to see samples of your knitting. I suspect it’s more sophisticated than my own. I like fairly simple knitting with soft, silky, lovely yarns. I don’t like to have to think a lot. I DO like cables, though I’m not very good at Fair Isle. I have trouble keeping the colored strands from looking messy.

Where do you get your plot ideas?

Sometimes I get ideas from walking she shores and small towns that dot Cape Ann, where the Seaside Knitters Mysteries are set. I listen to the people, ‘hanging out and keeping my eyes open.’ The area is populated by wonderful and interesting folks—fishermen, artists, shopkeepers and people who left the bustle of cities to enjoy the beauty of seaside living. They are all inspirations, along with the situations that make up their lives.

Things I see while spending time in the area are also fodder for plots. ANGORA ALIBI, for example, was inspired by a walk my husband, daughter, and I took along Niles beach where we spotted an abandoned infant car seat. It was there in the same spot for several days and made us all very curious—even slightly concerned because we never spotted a baby or a mother. Hmmm. Where were they….? And so the mystery in ANGORA ALIBI began.

I rarely ifever know the whole plot when I begin a book. I have a ‘seed’ of an idea (like the infant car seat in ANGORA ALIBI or the mysterious stranger in MURDER IN MERINO who never knew her past). I usually know who is going to be murdered before I get very far into the story. But most often I don’t know why or who did it. I depend on my characters to lead me along. Some days they are more cooperative than others, but they always come through in the end.

What is your daily writing routine?

I try to structure a normal workday for writing—9 to 5. Usually I retreat to a library, a coffee shop, my back porch (in perfect weather) or a writing friend’s deck (when we are both on similar schedules). When deadlines loom, my days grow longer and weekend are no longer for leisure, but I suppose that is true of many professions.

How long does it take you to write a book?

It’s a little like a pregnancy. Appropriate, I think! Not every minute of the nine months is spent writing, though. I mull over ideas, brainstorm with a couple of friends who know the series well, research online, etc. Sometimes I write essays about new characters, trying to get to know them as I place them in situations and see how they work their way out of them. I talk to myself sometimes, too, (though not in the library; they frown on that!) I usually take breaks for long walks and hope no one sees the crazy lady talking to herself as she walks through the park.

Now three things I ask everyone:

What is your favorite food? As you can probably tell from the seaside knitters mysteries, I love to cook AND to eat. (Nell’s kitchen is my dream kitchen.) And you can probably also tell that I love pasta, anything with lemon, seafood and fresh vegetables (especially grilled or roasted). I guess that’s more than one favorite, isn’t it? Oh dear….

What is your favorite TV show? The Good Wife. SO good!

What is your favorite music? My husband is a classical violinist and guitarist and because of that, I have been exposed to the Spanish compositions that Julian Bream and Segovia play. But I also love oldies—the Beatles, Paul Simon, etc. And I like Norah Jones, Adele, Sarah McLachlan. And depending on my mood (and what scene I am writing in a book) I often listen to Soundtracks from movies like As Good As It Gets, When Harry Met Sally, etc. (And my granddaughter Ruby has introduced me to Frozen, insisting I download it onto my iPhone….)

It’s been great to have you here today. Is there anything else you would like to say to your readers before you go?

Kate, you are wonderful for inviting me to spend time here. Connecting with readers is one of the very best parts of writing. Readers’ support, helpful notes, and expressions of interest and caring make what is sometimes a lonely profession, a most satisfying one. I enjoy hearing readers’ thoughts after reading one of my mysteries. I will be most interested to hear you weigh in about Jules Ainsley, a woman who wanders into Sea Harbor in the newest mystery, MURDER IN MERINO. I didn’t like her at first. But then…

Well, let me know what you think. And thank you for being here!

BLURB

It’s autumn in Sea Harbor and as the tourists leave a mysterious guest arrives. When she’s implicated in a crime the Seaside Knitters must quickly table their knitting project and search out a motif for murder.

Fall is usually a relaxing time in Sea Harbor, but it’s turning out to be a busy season for Izzy Chambers Perry. Not only is she helping the Seaside Knitters make a magnificent throw to celebrate the fortieth wedding anniversary of her aunt and uncle, she and her husband are finally selling the cottage she lived in before they married and had a darling baby girl. To Izzy’s surprise, newcomer Julia Ainsley seems determined to buy the home—although she’s never set foot inside.

But on the day of the open house, things take a tragic turn. A body is uncovered in the cottage’s backyard. When the police find Julia’s name and phone number in the victim’s pocket, this slender thread of evidence makes her a person of interest. Soon the spotlight of suspicion widens to include old friends and town leaders, as a tragic happening, long buried in the sleepy seaside town, is slowly brought to the surface.

Before the Endicotts’ joyful anniversary celebration can be realized, the Seaside Knitters must work to unravel the real reason Julia Ainsley has come to their town and the tangled and tragic ties from the past that bind friends and townsfolk together.

I read an earlier book in this series but somehow, never found the time for any others. After reading this latest installment, I will go back and read them all. There are wonderful characters and I want to see where they started and how they evolved to this point. These are people you would want to know. There is also a wonderful sense of place, wonderful description. This is a place you will want to visit. Enough talk of food and knitting to be interesting without being overbearing. I was at about page one fifty something when I was sure I knew the killer. Getting closer to the end, I was sure I had been right about who, just wrong about why. Turns out I was wrong on all counts! And that always makes a mystery more fun, when I’ve been fooled. There is a cast of characters in the front. Handy, I know so many readers like that. And in the back you will find a recipe and a pattern for the afghan talked about throughout the book. This one is ♥♥♥♥♥

Cathy Ace has beenhere on the blog before, but she is on tour with Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours for the release of her latest in the Cait Morgan Mystery series, THE CORPSE WITH THE EMERALD THUMB, so I am very pleased to welcome here again. Born, raised, and educated in Wales, Cathy enjoyed a successful career in marketing and training across Europe, before immigrating to Vancouver, Canada, where she taught MBA and undergraduate marketing programs at various universities. Her eclectic tastes in art, music, food, and drink have been developed during her decades of extensive travel, which she continues whenever possible. Now a full-time author, Cathy’s short stories have appeared in multiple anthologies, as well as on BBC Radio 4. She and her husband are keen gardeners, who enjoy being helped out around their acreage by their green-pawed Labradors. I am very pleased to have Cathy here once again, as she makes the last stop on her tour. Do take the time to listen to Cathy reading an excerpt, enjoy her interview and be sure to leave a comment for a chance to win a Kindle copy of The Corpse with the Emerald Thumb.

This presents a problem. We talked about writing before. And I know a fair bit about her from being Facebook friends and in some of the same groups. So… no choice but go tabloid and get personal here. Welcome Cathy and buckle up 😉

I was going to say that it’s great to be here again Kate . . . but now I’m beginning to worry about it! In any case, I have buckled up, and let’s hope it’s not a bumpy ride 😉

You may not be a sleuth like Cait Morgan but you certainly are a bit of an adventurer. It takes a certain kind of person to leave country and family behind. I mean when your country isn’t being ravaged by tyranny, war or famine. And I want you to know I am insanely jealous because I tried for Canada but apparently I have no discernable skills. But why did you leave everything behind and what about you made you able to do such a scary, to most people, thing?

I left Wales after university, and I’d lived in London, in the UK, for the better part of two decades, but had traveled extensively for both business and pleasure during that time. By 1999 I had sold my business (Europe’s largest privately owned post-graduate marketing training college) and was considering spending more time in the south of France, where I usually spent a few months each year. The University of British Columbia “imported” me to teach marketing on their MBA course. I’d never worked in the academic world before, and I saw it as a way to give back. Maybe because I was such a frequent traveler (I was spending only a couple of months a year at my London home then) I didn’t see the move to Canada as scary at all. I sort of “commuted” between London and Vancouver for about a year, then decided to sell my home in London and was able to buy a place in Canada.

Tell us a little about the family you left behind. What was it like then and what is it like now, where are they, are there lots of new ones, and do you see them often?

My Mum and my sister still live in Wales. Luckily for me, my Dad was able to visit my new home in Canada a few times before he died. My Mum and sister still visit once a year, and I visit them a couple of times a year.

I have had people tell me that emigration is easier today with FaceTime and Skype and Facebook – not that they have experienced it, but they know. LOL I’m not sure I agree. I think my heart breaks a little every time I see what my friends and family are up to without me. How do you feel about it? Do you think the technology makes it easier or do you think it was easier in the old days when it was a clean break, just the odd letter now and then?

I can only really tell you how it is for me. I speak to my Mum and my sister every day, I email them every day, and my sister and I connect online. There are a few friends I keep in touch with in various parts of the world, but I never had huge groups of friends in any case, and I don’t feel we all “miss” each other—we keep in touch as we can, and see each other, somewhere in the world, as we can. I’m not one for regret. If I can be somewhere to share something, I will do it. If I can’t I send my love and hope everyone else has a blast 😉

What is wonderful about Canada? What has it given you that you wouldn’t have found in Wales? Do you think you would have become a writer in Wales?

To me, Canada is about open space, fresh air, the silence you need to hear your own thoughts, and a home with a wonderful garden! I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have become a writer if I’d stayed in Wales. I left Wales to work, and through that work I became someone who wrote for a living, albeit I was writing for advertising and public relations campaigns. We never know how one decision affects our lives, or effects our lives. But we make decisions based on the knowledge we have at the time, and trying to weigh all the options. My parents, like most parents, wanted me to have a better life than they had. They taught me to give 200%, to always do my best. I try to live up to that. Who knows where that would have taken me in Wales, or London, or anywhere else? I am very happy with my life right now. I believe I am the most fortunate person in the world!

Tell us about your personal life (as if this wasn’t personal enough! LOL). I’ve seen pictures of your wedding – it was on a beach or something wasn’t it? Is your husband Canadian? Do you have children? Grandchildren?

You have eagle eyes! Yes, last year I posted our wedding photo on Facebook to mark our anniversary. We were married standing barefoot in a waterfall in Hawaii. Idyllic, and as beautiful as it sounds. It was just us two—with family scattered about all over the place, it would have been far too complicated for everyone to come together in one place, so we just went and did it. Not an elopement, just a quite ceremony. I married when I was 44, so have no children. But my husband, who is also Welsh, and who I met when I was 11 years old (yes, sweet!), has a wonderful son and daughter. I am lucky enough that I get to fill four grandchildren with sugar and hand them back to their loving parents!

It has been a pleasure having you here again, Cathy. You’re probably already worrying what I might ask when your next book but in the mean time, is there anything else you would like to tell your readers before you go?

This has been quite an experience! Thanks so much for having me along. I hope that readers enjoy traveling with Cait Morgan, and me. This time, in THE CORPSE WITH THE EMERALD THUMB, she’s in Mexico. In September 2014 she gets to visit Las Vegas, in THE CORPSE WITH THE PLATINUM HAIR. Maybe you’ll have me back again then—though I am already worried about what you might ask! Thanks for having me!

Criminologist and foodie Cait Morgan was looking forward to her dream vacation in Mexico with her boyfriend Bud Anderson. She wasn’t anticipating a fresh corpse on the floor of a local florist’s shop, and she definitely wasn’t expecting Bud to become the prime suspect.

With Bud’s freedom, and maybe even his life, at stake, Cait has to fight the clock to work out which member of the small community living in the seemingly idyllic municipality of Punta de las Rocas might have killed the locally respected florist, and why. Needing to investigate under the watchful gaze of the local police, Cait has to keep her relationship with Bud a secret, and she soon discovers she’s not the only one with something to hide. Peeling back layers of deceit to reveal even more puzzles, Cait struggles with a creeping sense of unreality, desperate to save Bud . . . and, ultimately, herself.

In the third book in the beloved Cait Morgan Mysteries, The Corpse with the Emerald Thumb, travel to the idyllic Mexican countryside as Cait Morgan works against the clock to clear her wrongly accused partner of murder.

MY REVIEW

Do I even need to give a rating at this point? I expect a great read from Cathy Ace and once again she has delivered. In a strange country, Cait finds herself alone and over her head trying to save Bud who has been accused of murder – and who, she discovers, is not who she thought he was. We get a shock about half way through when Cait herself is arrested as an accomplice. How will she get both of them out of this? You will enjoy finding out. Once again this is ♥♥♥♥♥

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DISCLOSURE

In accordance with FTC Guidelines for blogging and endorsements, I would like to let everyone know that books featured on this blog were either provided by the publisher or author or were purchased by me or borrowed from the library. The books I received from publishers and authors were provided for review and no payment was received by me and did not influence my opinion of the material. I’ve made it very simple. If I can’t give it a good review, I don’t publish the review. Mine is only one opinion and I have been known to be wrong. Some author who worked hard doesn’t need me knocking their book.
♥♥♥♥♥ Absolutely Amazing. When I start adding +’s it is beyond amazing, too good to even categorize.
♥♥♥♥ I really, really enjoyed it.
♥♥♥ A good solid read
If it is ♥ or ♥♥ I just don’t review it.